Losing a big-time playmaker to graduation or the professional ranks is never easy for a college athletics program, but when that player is Royce Freeman, Pac-12 record-setting running back, the task becomes that much more challenging.
And while the 2019 recruiting class won't fill Freeman's shoes directly - that task appears destined for Tony Brooks-James, Darrian Felix and others - Oregon's next line of running back recruits will be asked to play a role sooner rather than later.
It's early, but so far Oregon's search for future ball-carriers has focused on Californians Austin Jones and Sean Dollars, as well as 247Sports four-star running back Jaren Mangham.